Connections Summer 2010

Transcript

Volume XII Number 2 Summer 2010 Three-year-old Dathan Nicholson, son of Danny and Deniece Nicholson, learns about patriotism and respect this past September as he quietly stands to honor fallen home town hero Sgt. David Davis as the funeral procession passes by. XIT’s Construction is MOOvin’ Right Along XIT Rural Telephone Cooperative’s rural Fiberto-the-Home project is literally MOOvin’ right along as the whole herd came out to inspect the work of Dale Robertson’s ditching crew as they plowed fiber optic cable from XIT’s Coldwater Central Office up Highway 385 near Avi-Lanche Dairy. At this writing, construction has Dale Robertson and his crew are seen plowing in reached High Lonesome Road. fiber during XIT’s construction project. As of Friday, June 11th, XIT has completed 35.57 miles of its 79.51 mile Fiber-to-the-Home project. XIT’s Engineering Manager, Joe Lang, reports that XIT’s rural customers along the route south of Bowers Lane should be cut into service early-to-mid July. Customers residing north of Bowers Lane will be cut into service in the August to September timeframe. Lang also noted that the customer’s presence may be required to complete the installation process at the customer’s location and encourages the customer to coordinate with XIT and Triple J Communications, who will be assisting XIT with the installation of the drops at the customer’s premise. The coordination process should include the customer’s knowledge of any buried sewer, water and gas lines that may have to be crossed. Customers along the construction route should contact XIT at 806-384-3311 or Triple J Communications at 419-234-6432 or 580-651-6432 to discuss the drop and battery installation at their location. Fiber-to-the-Home (FTTH, another acronym) will provide XIT’s customers with the highest quality of telephone and high speed Internet services available with today’s technology. In 2009, XIT Rural Telephone completed Fiber-to-the-Premise construction in the City of Texline, the Draper Community and its Stevens Exchange near Stratford. Currently, XIT operates 313 miles of fiber. With plant of nearly 2,000 route miles of line in the rural area, the Cooperative has a ways to go before it has fiber to every location. Today, XIT’s construction is targeted where it will do the most good to reduce trouble and increase the ability to offer high speed data in the rural areas. XIT is committed to providing high-quality, reliable service to its customers for both voice and broadband data and has implemented a network design based around redundancy and proactive network management. Serving the Northwest Texas Panhandle Since 1951 What’s for Lunch?.... Whips ‘N Wheels What’s for Lunch? Stratford Sporting Day of Traditional Driving The Loose Caboose is a lunch-time favorite in Dalhart For the past several years, Stratford has been host to a unique event that takes us back in time to when horse power truly meant horsepower or maybe better stated as horse drawn! The 6th annual Stratford Sporting Day of Traditional Driving is Austin Riffe of Stratford, TX competes in his antique Country Gig carriage. an event sponsored by a local driving The beautiful Percheron horse is a large draft horse that is 18 hands tall. club called Whips ‘N Wheels. The event finds its purpose in preserving the style of horse and carriage driving from days gone by and encompasses horsemanship, driving acumen, care and preservation of carriage and harness. The time honored quality of good sportsmanship is of utmost importance. It is impressive. The carriages, buggies and wagons, the horses and the riders in period costume enjoy a day of driving, competition and good fun. The proceeds from this annual fundraising event go to a very good cause, the Stratford Volunteer Fire Department and Emergency Medical Service. The 2010 event will be held in Stratford, TX on Saturday, October 2nd from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Each year the event draws competitors from several states including Texas, Oklahoma, New Mexico, Colorado and sometimes a far away as Maine, Pennsylvania or Vermont. This year’s judge, John Greenall, from Vermont will be returning for the fourth time to judge the competition. The competition will include vehicle types from the following categories: Antique Vehicle, Reproductions, New, Wagons and Marathon. There will be an assortment of carriages such as a road cart, training cart, phaeton carriage and working vehicles like a freight wagon. The horses will take your breath away! You may see any of these types of horses: Morgan, Appaloosa, Quarter Horse, Percheron, Paso Fino, and Hafflinger. It is amazing to see the grace of a Morgan pulling a carriage and then to see the strength of a pair of Percherons pulling a 12 passenger freight wagon. The competition has four phases: the Turnout Inspection begins at 9:00 a.m., followed by a Country Drive, then the Cones Course at 10:30 a.m. and the Competitive Carriage Games start at 1:30 p.m. The driver and grooms must be dressed in appropriate attire to compliment the time era of their vehicle and carry a whip throughout the day while driving. The judge will Pictured here are Karen Riffe and her son, Austin, from look at harmony, balance and the appropriateness Stratford. They are dressed in period costume with their of the harness, vehicle and horse(s). reproduction wagonette carriage being drawn by There are several good locations in Strata Percheron. ford for viewing the competition. During the Country Drive, the elegant horse and carriage riders will make a three-minute stop at Coldwater Manor located at 1111 Beaver Road and then on Kay Avenue for the serpentine course. The Depot Museum is great for the Pub Hub stop. The Stratford Rodeo arena hosts the cones course and carriage games. For more information about the Stratford Sporting Day of Traditional Driving, go to www.traditionaldayofdriving.com and come join the fun! NEW OtterBox Protective Covers XIT Wireless now has the OtterBox protective cover available for Nokia phone models E63, E71, E72 and 5800. These covers make protecting your smartphone a priority! The OtterBox Impact Series provides durable protection in a single layer silicone skin. The unique inner-coring dissipates shock away from the device while keeping your smartphone looking new. Need even more protection for your smartphone? Then, you may want to consider the OtterBox Commuter Series that unites a silicone skin with a polycarbonate shell, which is perfect for the hustle of life at home or at work. Adding protection, the polycarbonate outer layer makes it easy to slip your smartphone in and out of any pocket or purse. Both the Impact Series and Commuter Series come with a self-adhering screen protector and a microfiber cleaning cloth included. The Impact Series sells for $19.95 and the Commuter Series is $29.95. Stop by your local XIT Wireless retail location and let XIT be your place to shop for all your wireless accessories and phones! Page 2 XIT Connections Just ask Jamie Gillispie, owner of The Loose Caboose in Dalhart, Texas, and she’ll tempt you with one of her homemade meals. The all-time favorite for her customers is the classic, Chicken Fried Steak, and she serves it every Tuesday for lunch. But, you might also enjoy her Chicken Spaghetti, Pulled Pork, Lasagna, Bierock Casserole, Meatloaf, King Ranch Chicken, Scalloped Potatoes or Mexican Bake. Is your mouth watering yet? And, these are just a sampling of the great lunchtime specials you can enjoy in a homey atmosphere. Oh, and did we mention that there is dessert! Don’t forget dessert! Another classic, cobbler, is what her customers enjoy the most. Jamie wants you to feel like you are at home with family and friends in her restaurant on Main Street (Denrock Ave) in Dalhart. The Loose Caboose leaves fancy for other places and is an eclectic collection of garage sale furnishings mixed with new to give it that comfortable at-home feeling. Being a restaurateur has evolved for Jamie. After college, she spent several years working as a caseworker for the Texas Department of Family and Protective Services. Then, she joined forces with Judy Martin and Renee McWhirter to open Rookies, another great eatery in Dalhart. She loved the work. But, the evening work hours did not suit her family obligations. She says “I was hooked” after her involvement with Rookies, and the idea of a lunch time, daily-plate special restaurant began to take hold. She could continue to work at what she enjoyed and be at home for her family after school and in the evening. Great idea, lots of hard work, and in any economy, difficult to make work! And, that was 3 years ago. The Loose Caboose opened for business after a labor of love to renovate the building was completed. Her parents, Jerry and Becky Mitchell, her late husband, Bruce, and a couple of friends all pitched in to get the building in shape. When asked how she came up with the name, The Loose Caboose, she says, partly because Dalhart is a railroad town, and then she laughs and says, “And, I thought I might be losing my caboose when I bought the building!” I told my husband, “Trust me! It’s all good.” So, The Loose Caboose it is! Jamie and her sister, Jocelyn Mitchell, began serving lunchtime specials from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. on June 15, 2007. Jamie cooked the main courses, and Jocelyn made the bread and desserts. Things were going great, and then, devastation occurs. Six months after the business opened, Jamie’s husband, Bruce, died suddenly of a thoracic aneurysm. Family, friends and neighbors rallied to her support and kept the restaurant open while Jamie and her family dealt with the devastating loss of her best friend and beloved husband and father, Bruce. Jamie is a worker. So, despite this difficult turn of events, she returned after a few weeks and kept working to make The Loose Caboose a place where people wanted to come enjoy lunch and visit with friends. It is a success story. In this always-on-the-go world we live in, the art of cooking and the act of sitting down for a family meal is…well, it often goes by the wayside and just doesn’t happen like it used to. We might sit down with take out and watch someone else cook on TV! As I visited with Jamie, I wondered how she had learned to cook and do it so well. With her easy smile, she says it was her grandmother, Cheniel Hesse, who provided the influence and inspiration for her love of cooking. Going to her grandma’s after church on Sunday for a hearty brunch of homemade biscuits, eggs, sausage, bacon and hash browns is what she remembers most. She loved that everyone had gathered together to enjoy a delicious home cooked meal. Her grandmother and her mom, Becky, kept the interest continued on page 4.... Continued from page 3 in cooking going by helping her with 4-H projects and food shows. She excelled in homemade breads … with Western Bean Bread being the favorite for the 4-H food shows – a very labor intensive yeast bread made with Ranch Style Beans. It hasn’t made it on the menu at The Loose Caboose yet, but lots of traditional good food has! If you live or work in Dalhart, you know about The Loose Caboose. If you’ve eaten there, you know it is great food that is priced right. And, you probably get your weekly menu by email. That’s how Jamie keeps her customers informed. The emails go out on Sunday. So, Monday morning when you get to work you can see when your favorite meal will be served. You can also checkout The Loose Caboose-Dalhart, Texas on Facebook. Become a fan! Or, check out www.dalhart.net, click on “What’s for Lunch” and see the menu. The Loose Caboose is located in Dalhart at 301 Denrock and serves lunch Monday-Friday from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. They serve a daily lunch special and “lighter” plate. Desserts are served daily. The Loose Caboose also does private parties, business meetings, casseroles-to-go, and take out. Just call (806)244-0570. And, now they are expanding their business with NEW SUMMER HOURS … serving burgers and sandwiches in the evenings Monday through Saturday from 5 to 9 p.m. … and have opened iScream next door! Jamie’s latest venture, iScream, is a very unique ice cream parlor located right next door to The Loose Caboose. Its décor is a mix of bright fluorescent colors, a little rock n roll, retro bar and barstools, antiques, and classic Halloween characters! Jamie and her daughter, Mary Spencer, partnered with Greg and Marisela Carter and their children, Collin and Samantha, to open this business. They wanted to create a fun place that would appeal to kids and to their families. With picnic tables out front, they would love for you to come enjoy an easy sandwich supper and ice cream, or, just come for the ice cream! Ice cream cones, sundaes, banana splits, milkshakes, floats, limeades and ice cream with candy toppings are what they have waiting for you. They are starting You can’t miss iScream on Denrock Ave, just look with the basic ice cream flavors of vanilla, chocolate and for the lime green and giant ice cream cone! strawberry with more flavors arriving soon. If you are not very adventurous, you can have your ice cream in a cup, waffle cone or cake cone. But, if you like life a little bit on the wild side, your ice cream can be quickly transformed into a monster milkshake, brownie bottom sundae, peanut delite, choco taco or a peanut butter chocolate shake! If you can think it up, they can make it! iScream is open from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m., and 5:00 p.m. to 10:00 p.m. on Monday through Friday. They will also be open on Saturday from 5:00 p.m. to 10:00 p.m. Jamie, Marisela, Greg and the kids are excited about iScream. They are looking forward With plenty of barstool seating, you can enjoy your ice to a great summer where people can meet, eat cream inside or outside on the picnic tables out front. and enjoy! Things are off to a great start with the recent Relay for Life fundraiser hosted at the Loose Caboose … over 115 hamburgers were served and $575.00 raised for a good cause. Jamie has more things in the works and plans to have some special “theme” evenings this summer, like the Mardi Gras seafood night she did last year. Watch for emails, flyers and Facebook for what’s happening at The Loose Caboose and iScream! Don’t Cut the Cord… The Loose Caboose Crew: L to R front row Virgina Encinias, Marisela Carter, Jamie Gillispie, Maxine Guerra Back row: Greg Carter and Albert DeLeon, not available for picture Cindy Romero Page 3 XIT Connections During a power outage, your cordless phone, caller ID unit or other telephone equipment, which require external power, will not work. Keep at least one corded, non-electrical phone in case you experience a power outage. Plug that phone directly into a phone jack to verify if you have service. Page 4 XIT Connections Rumor has it... Let’s set the record straight about cell phone numbers! No doubt you have seen the e-mails that circulate every year with the dire warning about the imminent release of cell phone numbers to be published or worst yet being supplied to telemarketers! Next time that e-mail arrives in your in-box, save yourself the worry and just delete it, because it is FALSE. The e-mail claims that cell phone users must register their number with the National “Do-Not-Call” Registry by a certain deadline to prevent their cell phone numbers from being published and released to telemarketers. Online Garage Sale Tools Are you a garage sale hound? Do you revel in the notion of finding hidden treasure in someone else’s collection? Then, keep reading. As most of you know, the rule of successful garage sale hunting is “being first.” I’ve found some great Internet sites that will give you the jump on your competition. Some of these sites simply help you plot an efficient route between all of the addresses. Others give you a preview of the loot you will find. So, before you jump in the car, check out these great Garage Sale links: • Yard Sale Treasure Map – I love this site. It collects all of the local garage sales from Craigslist and presents them in map form. You can search the ads for specific items like “baby toys” or “furniture.” Then, click the “Optimize Route” button to finish up. What could be easier? (www.yardsaletreasuremap.com) • Garage Sale Tracker – You can post your sale for free on this site, and it will even cross-post it to your Facebook Account if you want. (www.garagesalestracker.com) • GSALR – While not as polished, this site usually has the largest collection of sales. You can even add addresses from the paper and have it optimize your route. (http://gsalr.com) Eric Spellmann is the Owner and President of Spellmann & Associates, a technology company offering employee training, website design, PC repair, and network maintenance. He is a featured speaker at a number of state and national technology conferences and writes a syndicated column in fourteen newspapers. In addition, he produces a weekly television segment for his local ABC affiliate. To contact him, visit his website, http://www.EricSpellmann.com Facebook, Keep it Safe and Fun Facebook is a free social networking site that allows you to stay connected with your friends and family. With more than 200 million active users, you are sure to find who you are looking for. It is a great site to chat and catch up. For a positive experience, take a few precautions to ensure you share only what you want to share and educate your children about putting personal information out on the web. Here are a few things to think about. Your Profile Should Not Contain Your Full Birth Date - This information can be valuable for identity thieves. Edit your profile to show only the month and year or no birthday at all. Privacy Settings - Facebook provides privacy settings for almost everything on your site. Limit Access to only your friends and family. Restrict access to photos, birth date, and family information. Weak Passwords - Stay away from simple names, words or numbers for your passwords. Instead, try using at least eight characters with a mix of upper and lower case letters, numbers and symbols. One good technique is to insert numbers or symbols in the middle of a word. There is no truth to this rumor. You will NOT soon be getting telemarketing calls on your cell phone. Cell phone numbers have not and will not be furnished to telemarketers. And, FCC rules prohibit the use of automatic dialers and pre-recorded messages to call cell phones without the consumer’s consent. As an XIT Wireless customer, your cell phone number is non-published unless you decide otherwise. That means your cell phone number cannot be obtained by dialing 411 or directory assistance and is not published in our telephone directory or supplied to any other directory unless expressly requested by our customer. If you do want your personal or business cell phone number published, please contact XIT Customer Service at one of our local retail offices. And, now the rest of the story…how this rumor got started! Why the Confusion? The confusion seems to stem from recent discussions in the wireless phone industry about establishing a wireless 411 phone directory, much like your traditional (wired) 411 phone directory. A number of e-mail campaigns seem to suggest that if your wireless telephone number is listed in a wireless 411 directory, it will be available to telemarketers, and you will start to receive sales calls. In addition, some of these e-mail campaigns suggest that there is a separate do-not-call “cell phone registry,” which you must call to have your wireless phone number covered by the do-notcall rules. This information is wrong. Here Are the Facts: • At present, a wireless 411 directory is only in the idea stage. • Even if a wireless 411 directory is established, it would be an opt-in for the consumer. And, it is unlawful for any person to make any call (other than a call made for emergency purposes or made with prior consent) using any automatic telephone dialing system or any prerecorded voice message to any telephone number assigned to a paging service, mobile telephone service, or any service for which the called party is charged for the call. This prohibition applies regardless of whether the number is listed on the national Do-Not-Call list. The federal government does not maintain a separate Do-Not-Call list for wireless phone numbers. The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) and the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) established the National Do-Not-Call list to enable consumers to reduce the number of unwanted telemarketing calls to their residential or personal wireless phones. Wireless phone subscribers have always been able to add their personal wireless phone numbers to the national Do-Not-Call list, either online at www.donotcall.gov, or by calling toll-free to 1-888-3821222 from the phone number they wish to register. There is no deadline for registering a number on the National Do-Not-Call list. It’s that Time of Year If you can see it (lightning), flee it; If you can hear it (thunder), clear it. To become a member of Facebook, log on to www.facebook.com and sign up for a free account. For more information on Facebook safety and tips, log on to www.facebook.com/security. Each year 100 people will be killed in the U.S. as a result of a lightning strike, but 90% of people that are struck will survive. Knowing what to do can reduce the risk of lightning hazard. Here’s some facts and tips that will help keep you safe when a thunderstorms interrupts your day. Facts: • The average lightning flash will light a 100 watt bulb for 3 months. • Thunder is always associated with lightning and is actually the shock wave created by super heated air in the lightning channel. • Lightning also causes about $5 billion of economic loss each year in the U.S. • The Empire State Building is struck on average 21-25 times per year! Personal Safety Tips: • Stay out of open fields during a storm. Find shelter inside a building or vehicle. If you must remain outdoors, CROUCH DOWN. Put your feet together. • Do not take shelter under an isolated tree. Stay at least 10 feet away from the trunk and stand with your feet together. • If caught on the golf course during an electrical storm, stay out of the middle of the fairway. • Avoid water; Avoid high ground; Avoid open spaces; Avoid all metal objects Page 5 Page 6 Photo Captions - Be careful how much you disclose. Never use a child’s name in photo tags or captions. Travel Plans - Never mention that you are going on vacation. Wait until you get home to tell everyone how awesome your trip was. Young Facebook Users - Facebook recommends users be 13 years of age or older. Educate your children about posting regular routines, being home alone or other personal information. Invite your children to be your friend on Facebook, which will allow you a better opportunity to monitor their profiles. Or, install monitoring software (http://monitoring-software-review.toptenreviews.com). But most importantly, tell them not to add someone as a friend if they don’t know the person. XIT Connections XIT Connections GOOD BYE VCR! HELLO DVR! Finally, you can control TV viewing! Plus, experience the amazing clarity of HD! Let’s Talk Terms HDTV, VOD and DVR are all coming to XIT Customers in the near future. And, yes, the telecommunications business is full of acronyms and these are just a few you will be hearing a lot about in the coming months! XIT is working everyday to complete the construction and testing so we can provide you with SIMPLY the BEST in TV programming for your entertainment. With the new services coming to you from XIT, you will enjoy the finest in HDTV viewing, control your viewing time with the convenience of DVR and enjoy the latest movies and events with VOD! Now for a little FAQ (frequently asked questions)… What is HDTV? HDTV stands for high-definition television, which is a video system that delivers brilliant, high resolution images to your TV. HDTV images are made up of pixels that are much closer together than those used in standard television, and there are millions of them. Thus, HDTV images are significantly more detailed than regular TV, delivering amazing clarity with rich realistic images, as well as multichannel, movie-theater-quality sound. What is VOD? Video on Demand is a pay-per-view television service in which a viewer can order a program (movies, sports, feature presentations, etc.) from a menu and have it delivered instantly to the television set. VOD also allows the user to pause, play, fast forward, or rewind a video. What is DVR? The ever popular Digital Video Recorder is a high-capacity hard drive embedded in a set-top box that allows you to control your viewing. It records video programming from a television set. DVR allows viewers to pause live TV, skip commercials, record two programs at once and rewind TV programs. NEW XIT Regional Directory The 12th edition of the XIT Regional Directory will be arriving in July. And, if you judge a book by its cover…this year’s directory will be an award winner! The beautiful cover design depicts a gorgeous coral sunset that can only be found in the Texas panhandle. This year’s directory will be the book you reach for with our outstanding yellow pages for your one-stop shopping, alpha and numeric listings and informational sections. Amarillo and Canyon white page listings, government office sections, area code map, international calling and landline and wireless call features will once again be a part of our new directory. Extra phone books for your home, office, and vehicle will be available at your local XIT office. How Your Name & Number Gets in the XIT Directory Each year, XIT strives to make our directory the most accurate directory in the area. We carefully proof each listing of XIT subscribers to ensure it is listed properly. During the proofing process, if an error is noticed, it is corrected before publication. The XIT Communications Regional Directory does include directory listings that are not subscribers of XIT’s service. XIT obtains these listings from other telephone providers in the area that are included in our directory. Based on the agreement between XIT and the other provider, XIT cannot make any corrections to these listings. If there is an error in your directory listing, and you are not a subscriber of XIT Communications, you must call your provider to have them correct your directory listing. Page 7 XIT Connections Direct correspondence to: XIT Connections Attn: Marketing Department P.O. Box 711 Dalhart, TX 79022 or e-mail to [email protected] 12324 US Highway 87 Dalhart, TX 79022 is a quarterly publication for XIT Rural Telephone Cooperative, Inc. members, XIT Communications and XIT Wireless Customers. PRESORTED STANDARD US POSTAGE PAID PANHANDLE PRESORT SERVICES, LTD Connections www.xit.net Receive XIT Voice Mail Messages by EMAIL At XIT Communications, we like to make your life easier with new technology and features that make getting through the day just a little more convenient. That’s why we want to let you know about an easy to use convenient feature of our Voice Mail System. With a few clicks on the computer, you can set up to receive your landline or wireless voice mail messages via email. Or, you can go to the XIT website and listen to your voice mail messages on the web. Here’s how… To listen to your voice mail messages online: Go to www.xit.net > Click on MESSAGE CENTER Enter your 10 digit phone number without brackets, dashes or spaces. Enter your password > Click the SIGN IN button. Use the drop down window to select: New Messages, Saved Messages, New & Saved Messages or All Messages To retrieve a message, click on “open”, then click on “play” Click the SAVE or DELETE button when you are finished listening to your message. To set your voice mail to come to your email: Note: At this Go to www.xit.net > Click on MESSAGE CENTER time, the option Enter your 10 digit phone number without brackets, dashes or spaces. to receive voice Enter your password > Click the SIGN IN button. messages via fax Click on SETTINGS from the options listed at the bottom of the screen. is not available. Set your PERSONAL PREFERENCES: Check mark Auto Play Timestamp box Check mark Email Notification box Check mark Attach Voice Message box Then, “click here to update email address”, enter the required information. Click Update button. Voicemail messages will be sent to your email inbox as a wav file email attachment. The email will come from “XIT Telecom” with “XIT Message” in the subject line. Page 8 XIT Connections